Track finally open to riders

Eighteen days after the official start date of Little 500 rookie week, riders were allowed on the track at Bill Armstrong Stadium Thursday.\nA combination of snow and cold weather prohibited rookie riders from beginning the eight days of track workouts which were supposed to start on Feb. 17. The gates finally opened for the first time Thursday -- just 23 days from qualifications.\n"It's disappointing," said senior John Grant, vice-chair of the men's Riders Council. "Everyone likes to get out there and see what everyone has, but you can't control the weather."\nThe break in the weather was a welcome sign for some, if not all, Little 500 riders from both the men's and women's teams. \n"It's still very cold out there, but both the men and women are doing a great job of bracing the weather," said senior Bri Kovac, vice-chair of women's Riders Council. \nWith teams training since the end of last year's race, the track is a change of venue. During the summer, fall and even this winter, teams have been out riding the streets of Bloomington, Monroe County and basically wherever the weather permits. Their efforts have paid off, especially for the rookies.\n"The rookies look great out there," Kovac said. "They were working on full exchanges by the second day. They came in a lot more prepared than rookies in the past."\nDuring their time on the track, the men and women have separate track times that alternate by day due to the overcrowding that having all riders on the track at one time would cause. While they are going through rookie week, the riders on Riders Council, which is composed of 12 men's riders and 10 women's riders, lead the rookies through drills and teach them how to ride on a track with 30 other competitors. The rookies will learn how to get on and off their bikes, how to exchange, how to ride in packs safely, how to communicate, understanding the rules and all the different aspects to track riding.\nThe late start will cause some rookies to be affected, Grant said, but if they are in shape and have worked out and trained all year, they should be fine.\n"It was nice to finally get out there and get some of the nerves out of my system," said junior Chris Moss, a rookie from the Chi Phi Fraternity. "Being on the track is interesting because all of our rookies are in the same boat, so no one has an advantage."\nWith all the snow that IU has received this winter, the track is in relatively good shape.\n"The track is a little rough," Grant said. "It's not great, but they will go over with a type of plow and groom it. And any ruts will be filled in."\nFor all the delays and weather issues, the riders still feel good to finally be on the track riding and preparing for April 26.\n"It was nice to be out there," Grant said. "It was nice to be back on the track"